Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 147

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Boston, Biographical review publishing company
Number of Pages: 1238

USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts > Part 147

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In October, 1880, Mr. Roy purchased ten acres of land on Lowell Street, containing a house and barn, which he has improved into one of the handsomest estates in that neighbor- hood. Devoting to agricultural pursuits what little time he could spare from his business, he improved a fine farm of two hundred and thirty acres, one hundred and thirty of which is under cultivation. He built twelve hundred rods of stone wall four feet high and four feet wide, with material taken from the premises, and also constructed four hundred and seventy- five rods of blind ditches. He has wintered fifty-nine head of cattle and nine horses, and at one time had in his barns sixty-five head. This property he sold to the Norcross Brothers, for twenty-two thousand dollars ; and so quietly had he perfected the improvements that when

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Mr. James A. Norcross, the owner of the ad- joining estate, examined it he was surprised to learn that it was one of the best farms in the country.

Mr. Roy married Helen Hicks, of Cham- plain, daughter of Anthony and Angeline (Goodchild) Hicks, who were the parents of seven children, of whom two sons and four daughters are living. Joseph Hicks resides in Lowell, Mass., and John Hicks in Ellenburg, Clinton County, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs Roy have had one son and eight daughters. One daughter, Maud, died at the age of eighteen years. The survivors are: Mary, wife of Fred A. Alden, of Auburn, Mass., having five children; Lena, wife of Edward Richmond, of this city, having one daughter; Clara, who resides at home; Hattie, who married Fred Wilde, of Hartford, Conn. ; Lillie, who is also at home; Martha Washington Roy, a graduate of Houghton Seminary, N. Y. ; Sylvanus B., who is in business with his father; and Ger- trude Calista Roy ..

Politically, Mr. Roy is a Republican. The only fraternal order to which he belongs is the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. For years he labored diligently to gain a foothold in business, which he obtained without capital, and his success is wholly the result of industry and perseverance.

J OHN RIVARD,* grocery and provision merchant, Worcester, was born in Lower Canada in 1862. He is of French descent. His parents, Pete and Genevieve (Hétu) Rivard had fourteen children, of whom six grew to maturity and five are now living, he being next to the youngest. His father, Peter Rivard, was born in 1828.

John Rivard came to Massachusetts at the age of six years, and was educated in the public schools of Sutton. When eight years old he began work in a factory, and that occupation he followed for several years, at small wages for a long day's work. About seventeen years ago his desire for a less arduous and more re- munerative employment asserted itself, and he determined to try his fortune in mercantile

business. Opening a grocery and provision store at 93 and 95 Lamartine Street, he has built up a trade which necessitates the run- ning of three teams; and in 1891 he added hay and grain to his business. He has erected a four-story frame building, which has a frontage of eighty feet and contains thirty-five tene- ments.

In 1881 Mr. Rivard was united in marriage with Melvina Morin. They have had six chil- dren, two of whom are living - Lena and Riva.

In politics he is a Republican; in 1896 he was elected to the Common Council. He is actively interested in all matters relative to the welfare of his fellow-countrymen, and be- longs to the Fontiac Club.

ILO F. · DRAKE,* a prominent agriculturist and milk producer of North Brookfield, was born in the town of Brookfield, on April 25, 1853, son of Daniel and Lorinda (Slayton) Drake. He is a great-grandson of Elisha Drake, who lived in Spencer, and a grandson of Captain Daniel Drake, who was born in Brookfield and was an officer in the war of 1812.

Captain Daniel's son, Daniel second, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Spen- cer, Mass., and died on October 13, 1879. He was a farmer by occupation and spent the greater part of his life in this place, coming here when his son Milo was a lad of twelve years. He was a Republican in politics and served on the School Board. He was a mem- ber of the North Brookfield Farmers' Club. His wife, Lorinda, was a native of Brookfield. She died on September 19, 1859. (Further information relating to the history of the Drake, family may be found in the sketch of Edward W. Drake, of Brookfield, which appears eleswhere in this work. )

Milo F. Drake has been a resident of this place since he came here in early boyhood with his parents. The farm on which he lives and which he now manages embraces about one hundred and twenty acres of land and is in a fine state of cultivation. Besides carrying on

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general farming, Mr. Drake owns and conducts a milk route in East Brookfield. A Republi- can in politics, he is interested in the public welfare and progress. He is a member of the Baptist church at East Brookfield and of the Grange at North Brookfield.

Mr. Drake was married on New Year's Day, 1885, to Laura Bemis, of Spencer, daughter of Cheney Bemis. Mrs. Drake, who died in Jan- uary, 1888, was a devoted member of the Bap- tist church with which her husband is con- nected. She was the mother of two children Ruth E. and Leonard B.

ILLIAM ARTHUR LYTLE,* mer- chant tailor, Worcester, was born in Binghamton, N. Y., June 21, 1853, son of William Joseph and Julia M. (Jackson) Lytle. William Lytle, of Binghamton, his paternal grandfather, whose first wife was Eliza Taylor, a descendant of Revolutionary ancestry, reared a family of four children, all of whom lived to a good old age except William J. The only survivor is Mrs. Wheeden, who re- sides in New Hartford, N. Y., and is now nearly eighty-one years old. David Taylor Lytle, one of the sons of William, died in Port Washington, Mich., aged seventy-eight years, leaving a daughter.

William Joseph Lytle was born in Bingham- ton, in 1826, and died in 1853. He married Julia M. Jackson, daughter of Abel W. and Lorinda (Angel) Jackson, the former of whom was a native of Brandon, Vt., and the latter of Lisle, N. Y.

William Arthur Lytle was early left an orphan, having lost his father when an infant, and his mother while he was still young. When four years old he was brought to Worces- ter where he attended school until reaching the age of twelve, his education being completed with a two years' course at the Academy in Vineland, N.J. Returning to Worcester at the age of seventeen, he entered the employ of Davis & Co., merchant tailors and dealers in ready-made clothing and gentlemen's furnish- ings, and six years later was admitted to part- nership, the firm name becoming Davis, Lytle & Co. Selling his interest in 1886, he estab-

lished his present business under the style of William A. Lytle & Co., in the Walker Building, 409 Main Street. He is one of the leading tailors and clothing dealers in the city, carrying a large and varied stock of sea- sonable goods of the best quality, which enables him to command a numerous patron- age. In April, 1897, he took the position of manager of the Jerome Kennedy store, Provi- dence, R. I., one of the largest men's, boys', and ladies' ready-made clothing establishments in New England; and, as he does the buying for both stores, his time is divided between Boston, New York, Worcester, and Providence.

Mr. Lytle is a trustee of the Universalist church. Politically, he is a Republican, and takes an active part in the local party organiza- tion. He has served as chairman of the Cam- paign and as a member of the County Commit- tees, and was a member of the Board of Aldermen for the years 1891-92 and 1897. He is a Mason of high rank, and is now presi- dent of the Masonic Charity and Educational Association.

On August 18, 1876, Mr. Lytle was joined in marriage with Alice E. Jackson, of this city, daughter of Dwight S. Jackson. Mr. and Mrs. Lytle have five children : Alice, a grad- uate of the English High School; Lora Marion; Harriet Jackson; Frederick Myron ; and William A., Jr. Mr. Lytle and his fam- ily have a pleasant home at 28 May Street, which estate he purchased in 1888.

AMUEL A. GOSS,* a reliable car- penter of Worcester in his day, was born in South Manchester, Mass., about eighty-two years ago. His parents - Jonas and Judith (Andrews) Goss, who resided upon a farm - reared three sons and one daughter. Of these Jonas was the eldest, and he succeeded to the ownership of the home- stead.

Samuel A. Goss settled in Worcester, where he followed his trade industriously for the rest of his life, and was regarded as an unusually skilful house carpenter. Quiet and retiring in his habits and deeply attached to his family, he devoted his leisure hours to the pleasures of

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home life. He was a member of the Pleasant Street Baptist Church. He died at his home, II Oxford Street, April 14, 1878, aged about sixty-two years. He was three times mar- ried. His third wife, who survives him, was, before marriage, Mary Susan Jewett. Her father, Benjamin Jewett, was born in Bol- ton, Mass., in 1781, and died in Sterling in 1875. Her mother died in 1860, at the time of the general excitement caused by the capture of John Brown, the abolitionist. Benjamin Jewett was the father of fourteen children, of whom ten grew to maturity and married. The living are : Theodore, who is now seventy years old, and resides in Clinton, Mass. ; Franklin, who lives in Holyoke; Mary S., now Mrs. Goss; and Lydia, wife of Laban G. Dunpane, of Attleboro, Mass. Mrs. Goss completed her education at the Bristol Academy, Taunton, Mass. She had previously taught school, hav- ing begun early in life as an assistant. For some time she was a private teacher in a Taun- ton family. Mrs. Goss's physical and mental faculties retain their accustomed vigor. Bereft of her husband and her only child, Annie Townsend Goss, she still occupies the modest but pleasant residence erected by Mr. Goss some forty years ago, and made attractive by shade trees and shrubbery.

Mr. Goss had three children by his first wife. Two of them are now living : William Henry, of Chicago, a commercial traveller; and Franklin, a travelling property man with a the- atrical company.

OHN WARREN JORDAN,* senior partner and founder of the well-known firm of J. W. Jordan & Co., hardware dealers and outfitters for sanitary plumbing, was born in Mason, Hillsboro County, N. H., on October 1, 1826, being the eldest of the ten children of John Rogers and Susan (Darling) Jordan. His grandfather, Samuel Jordan, was an Englishman by birth, but was married in this country to Sarah Rogers, said to have been a direct descendant of John Rogers the martyr. She was born in 1786, and was married at the age of nineteen. Of the children born to her, two daughters and

three sons grew to maturity, and one of the daughters, Mrs. Sarah Reynolds, is now living in Michigan at an advanced age.

John Rogers Jordan was born in Philadel- phia, Pa., on February 28, 1806. His mother being left a widow without means, he was early obliged to become self-supporting, and when only eight or ten years of age went to New Hampshire and lived on a farm. Later he worked on stone, and in time became the owner of a fine and productive quarry in Lynn, Mass. He was a man of handsome and imposing phys- ique, and was for some years a Captain in the militia. In the latter part of his life he joined the Masonic organization. He was a man of much influence in Lynn, and highly respected. He served the city in both branches of its gov- ernment. He was married first in Mason, N. H., to Susan Darling, who was one of a family of seventeen children. She died in 1877, at the age of seventy-three. He subse- quently married a second wife, who is still liv- ing. The ten children of John Rogers Jordan, all of whom were born of the first marriage were: John W., Susan Elizabeth, Mary A., Sarah J., Lucy A., Alexander H., Samuel, Oliver Hazard Perry, Edwin Darling, and Henry Harrison Jordan.

The last-named four of these are deceased. Samuel enlisted at Lowell to serve in the Mex- ican War before he was eighteen, and died at Fort Jessup, Mexico, while on his way to the front. Oliver H. P. died in Worcester in 1863 at about thirty-three years of age, leaving a wife, a son, and three daughters. He had resided here about two years. Edwin was a volunteer in the Civil War from Worcester, in Company G of the Fifteenth Massachusetts In- fantry. He was shot through the leg at Antie- tam and died at Sharpsburg a few days after. His brother John brought his remains home for interment. Henry Harrison Jordan was a vol- unteer from Lynn among the nine months' men. He died at his home in Lynn in the seventies, leaving a widow and one son, Jay Jordan. Susan E. Jordan married Ebenezer Harris and resides in Fitchburg, Mass. Mary is the wife of Warren Bailey, of Lynn. Sarah J. is the wife of W. Wilson of the same city. Lucy is the wife of a Mr. Russell, of Lynn.

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Alexander H. Jordan resides in West Somer- ville, Mass.

John Warren Jordan left home at the age of eight and went to live in the family of Thomas Kidder in New Hampshire, the family in which his father had been brought up. He remained there five years and during two win- ters attended school for a six weeks' term.

At thirteen he went to work in a factory as bobbin boy, and in four years' time was made overseer in the weaving room. Then feeling that greater opportunity for advancement awaited him in a larger place, he took all his belongings in a handkerchief and walked to Manchester, where he set himself to learn the tinner's trade. After serving two years at this, he was seized with a patriotic fever and went to Lowell, thence to Boston, and thence to Governor's Island, where he enlisted for the Mexican War. In August, 1845, he arrived in Worcester, with but twenty-five cents in his pockets, expecting to find himself without a friend. But he found old acquaintances from Mason, N. H., and soon went to work for them.

For fifty-three years Mr. Jordan has resided in this city, and for the last forty-six years he has been engaged in the plumbing and hard- ware trade. The firm of J. W. Jordan & Co. is now the oldest established firm of its kind here. Its business has grown from a small be- ginning to its present proportions, now occupy- ing two stores and three floors of the hand- some block 607, 609, and 611 Main Street, which was completed and first occupied in July, 1865.

Mr. Jordan was married in November, 1847, to Caroline C. Loring, of Townsend, Mass., daughter of Elmer and Mary (Hastings) Lor- ing, and one of a family of twelve children. She was the mother of four children, only one of whom grew to maturity and is now living. This is Genevieve H., wife of D. E. Forrest, of Medford, and the mother of three children. Mrs. Caroline C. Jordan died on December 12, 1869, and on November 24, 1870, Mr. Jordan was united in marriage with Lydia Almira Perry, of Worcester, daughter of Joseph S. Perry, whose sketch may be found on another page of this work. The children of this sec- ond marriage were as follows; Lillie Mary,

who was born in March, 1872, and died in in- fancy; Annie Rogers, who was born on June 4, 1873, and died in February, 1879; John Warren, who was born on June 14, 1874, and is now a mechanic in his father's store; Fred- erick B., who was born on August 15, 1875, and is now married to Bessie Edwards; and has two sons, Fred and Leslie Edwards; and Ethel Susie, who was born on July 27, 1881, and is now in school.

In politics Mr. Jordan is a Republican. He was in the Common Council in 1859 and 1861, and on the Board of Aldermen in 1870 and 1871. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, having been a member of the order since the dedication of Bunker Hill Monument. He is a Past Master of Montecute Lodge. For eight years during the war he was an officer of the lodge and missed only two meetings during all that time. He and his wife are members of the Piedmont Congregational Church. Eleven years ago, in the fall of 1887, they settled in their pleasant home at 41 May Street. They had previously lived for twelve years at 98 Woodland Street. Mr. Jordan owns a lot in Myrtle Street, Nos. II and 13, and two tenements at 43 and 45 May Street.

LBERT M. TYLER, M.D.,* the pop- ular physician of Sterling village, is a native of West Brookfield, where he was born on October 18, 1859, son of Moses M. and Lucy A. (Crabtree) Tyler. His grandfather, Cutler Tyler, who was born in Polland, Conn., was a farmer in that town, and died there.

Moses M. Tyler was a machinist by trade. He worked for a time in Fiskdale, and then went to Farmingon, Me., and from there to Ohio. On his return he settled at West Brookfield on a farm, which he carried on until his death in 1870, at the age of fifty- four. He was an active member of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, and at different times held various offices in that body. His wife, Lucy, who is still living in West Brookfield, was born in that town, the daughter of Seth and Susan A. (Sibley) Crabtree, She has

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been bereft of one child, and has five living at the present time, namely: Isaac, who has been for many years a teacher; Augusta; Dr. Al- bert M .; Carlton ; and Ernest.

Dr. Tyler was only eleven years of age when his father died, and his early training thus fell under the direction of his mother. He was sent to the public schools, and sub- sequently to Wesleyan Academy, where he spent two years. His health then failed, and it became necessary for him to give up study for a time. After a year's recuperation in the White Mountain region, he entered Phillips Academy at Andover, Mass., and he was grad- uated in 1883. Entering the medical depart- ment of the University of Michigan the fol- lowing autumn, he there received his medical diploma three years later. He settled for the practice of his profession in Sterling, and for a number of years was the only physician in the town. He has built up a wide practice, and his long and successful experience now places him in the list of skilled medical and surgical practitioners.

The Doctor was married in 1887 to Fannie L., only daughter of George Knight, of Stur- bridge. In politics Dr. Tyler is a Republi- can. He has served on the School Board three years, has been Town Physician for eleven years, and four years secretary of the Board of Health. Fraternally, he is a mem- ber of Golden Rule Lodge, No. 239, F. & A. M .; of Sterling Grange; and of Lancaster Lodge, No. 89, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is a member of the Fitchburg Branch of the Worcester County Medical So- ciety. He is medical examiner for the New York Life, the New York Mutual, and all other insurance companies represented in Sterling, as well as for the local body of the American Order of United Workmen. Dr. Tyler attends the Congregational church.

OLONEL FRED WILLIAMS WELLINGTON,* of Worcester, coal dealer and president of the Ameri- can Car Sprinkler Company, was born in the town of Shirley, this county, on May 31, 1851, to Timothy W. and Augusta

T. (Fisk) Wellington. He is descended from Roger Wellington, who was born in England in 1609 or 1610, was in Watertown, Mass., as early as 1642 (being one of the original pro- prietors of the town), was admitted as freeman in 1690, and died on March 11, 1698. Roger Wellington's will makes mention of five sons - John, Benjamin, Oliver, Joseph, and Pal- grave - and one daughter.

Benjamin Wellington, a lineal descendant of Roger, was the first of this family in Lex- ington. He had a son Timothy, who was born in 1719, about fourteen years after the family settled in Lexington; and Timothy had a son, Captain Timothy, who was born on April 15, 1747, and died in 1809. Captain Timothy Wellington served in Captain Parker's company in the Revolution. .On May 1, 1776, he was united in marriage with Hannah W. Abbot, who was born on Decem- ber 10, 1758, and died in 1785. They were both admitted to the church in Lexington in 1777.

Their son Nehemiah was born in Lexington on New Year's Day, 1780, and died there on May II, 1857. He was a carpenter by trade, and resided on his farm. He held the office of Selectman in 1841, that of Assessor in 1840, and in 1836 and 1838 he was a member of the House of Representatives at Boston. He was married on May 16, 1805, to Nancy, daughter of Joshua Stearns, of Waltham. Of this union nine children, six sons and three daugh- ters, were born. Eight of these married and had families. Two of the daughters are still living in Lexington : Maria, widow of Samuel Bridge, now in her eighty-ninth year, and bright and active; and Avis, the wife of E. A. Mulliken. Both have children and grandchildren.

Timothy W. Wellington, son of Nehemiah and Nancy, was born in Lexington on the Fourth of July, 1811, and died at Alberg Springs, Vt., on August 25, 1884. He was a man of generous and noble character. His first wife, Susan Ray, whom he married on November 4, 1835, died on April 28, 1847, leaving four sons -- Edward W., Frank W., George W., and Charles W. His second mar- riage, which took place on September 3, 1848,

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was with Augusta T. Fisk, who was born in Lexington on December 31, 1822, daughter of Samuel and Ardelia L. (Tafts) Fisk. Her father was a native of Salem, and her mother a native of Charlestown. They were the par- ents of eight children - six daughters and two sons. One son, Alfred R. Fisk, died in No- vember, 1886; and a daughter, Maria W., wife of William S. Pinkerton, died on August 25, 1886. Mrs. Pinkerton's son, Alfred S. Pin- kerton, is a lawyer of repute. He was for several years a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and for three years President of the Massachusetts Senate. Mrs. Augusta T. Wellington has been the mother of two children - Fred W. and Delia Maria. The latter was born on July 18, 1857, and died on September 18, 1871. After the death of her husband Mrs. Wellington married on January 6, 1885, his brother, Jonah P. Well- ington, who, three years later, on April 27, 1889, at the age of seventy-three, died at his home in Cambridge.

Colonel Wellington was book-keeper in the coal office previous to 1877, when he set up in business for himself. In 1895 the com- pany was made a corporate body, of which he was one of the organizers, and in which he is a stockholder. The Colonel has for many years been connected with the State militia, rising from the ranks to be Captain of a bat- tery. In 1886 he was commissioned as Colonel and Assistant Inspector-general by Governor Ames, and he has since held the po- sition by reappointment by Governors Brack- ett and Greenhalge, in 1895 by Acting Gov- ernor Wolcott, and in 1896 by Governor Wolcott. He is an acknowledged expert in military tactics, and takes a warm interest in the duties of his office. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, and has been Captain-general in the commandery. Politically, the Colonel is a Republican. He recently resigned from the Republican State Committee after seven years of active and valuable service as a mem- ber of that body.

On September 4, 1883, Colonel Wellington was united in marriage with Mrs. Lydia A. Goodell, widow of General Arthur A. Good- ell, who was Commander of the Thirty-sixth

Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infan- try in the late war, and was wounded in 1863 at Blue Springs, Tenn. General Goodell died in 1881, leaving a wife and three children: Harry B., who is in Manchester, N.Y .; Ed- ward W., who died on February 2, 1891, at the age of twenty-one; and Alice M. Goodell, who resides with Colonel and Mrs. Wellington in their pleasant home in Windsor Street, which was built in 1855. The Colonel's fam- ily are members of the Old South Church.

UFUS CARTER,* of Worcester, for twenty-five years an official of the House of Correction, was born in this county at Leominster on June 9, 1818, son of Asaph and Ruth (Drake) Carter. His earliest ancestor in this country was Thomas Carter, who came from England in 1635, was ordained minister of Woburn a few years later, and died there in 1684. The Rev. Thomas Carter and his wife, Mary, had eight children, the eldest a son Samuel. (See "A Genealogy of the Descendants of Samuel and Thomas, Sons of Rev. Samuel Carter," collected and arranged by Mrs. Clara A. Car- ter and by Mrs. Sarah A. Carter.

The Rev. Samuel Carter, who was born in Woburn on August 8, 1640, and was gradu- ated at Harvard College in 1660, died in the autumn of 1693, being at that time pastor of the church in Groton, to which he was called in October, 1692. In Woburn he had filled the offices of Town Clerk and Selectman, and had taught school. His wife, whom he mar- ried in 1672, was Eunice, daughter of John and Eunice (Mousell) Brooks. She was born in Woburn on October 10, 1655. From the Rev. Samuel,2 the line of descent to Rufus Carter is through Samuel 3 and Oliver, 4 the latter of whom was born in Lancaster, to Ephraim,5 grandfather of the subject of this sketch. Ephraim Carter 5 was born in Leom- inster on November 14, 1748, and died there on May 7, 1817. He was a farmer and a brickmaker, having a brickyard on his farm. He erected a brick house, a hundred years old, which is still standing, in good condition. He was forty years a Deacon in the Unitarian

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Biographical review containing life sketches of leading citizens of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Part 147

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Boston, Biographical review publishing company Number of Pages: 1238

Author: Biographical Review Publishing Company, Boston, pub
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: Boston, Biographical review publishing company
Number of Pages: 1238